Photo by Carters_Mom710

If you have older kids, you've probably received a card with illegible scribbles, a freshly picked bouquet of dandelions and those tulips you've had a difficult time growing, or some other heartfelt gift that showed how much they love you.

Those little sentiments of affection make you feel like the happiest mommy in the world!

But when you have baby, all the crying, fussing, and restlessness can leave you longing for a sign -- any sign! -- that your little one loves you.

Surely you know he does, but for those particularly trying days when you need a special reminder, Parenting.com came up with 8 Ways Your Baby Says I Love You:

  1. Smiling, even for a split second (birth to 6 months): A newborn's smile is his way of reflecting your smile, which is instinctively building a bond with you.
  2. Staring at you intently (birth to 6 months): Your baby recognizes your voice, your smell, your face. When he stares at you, he's basically memorizing all those elements together, learning what comfort, and love, looks like.
  3. Holding up his arms (6-12 months): Everytime a baby reaches for me, my heart jumps in my chest. It's body language that screams "I want to be with you."
  4. Smooching (6-12 months): Who doesn't love those slobbery, mouth wide open (and sometimes hard!) baby kisses? They have learned how others express physical affection and there's no one else they want to practice that on other than Mom and Dad.
  5. Bouncing, wiggling, and cheering for you (6-12 months): She makes you feel like a superstar just for walking through the door and on the flip side screams when you leave the room. At this age, they understand object permanence (knowing you exist when you're not around), so it's hard on her knowing that her momma that she loves so much is out there, and not here to snuggle.
  6. Doing what you do (12-20 months): Imitation is the best form of flattery, and when your baby is acting like mini-you, she's showing she looooves you! That baby doll she's carrying around is proof that she wants to be like, and loves, her momma.
  7. When they get hurt, they come straight to you (12-20 months): Mommy makes everything better and even though it may be more of a cry for attention than actual pain, it really does make your baby feel better to know you love them as much as they love you.
  8. She reserves bad behavior just for you (12-20 months): Yes, lucky you. I'm sure every mom has heard "she was such an angel" upon picking their child up and then two seconds into the drive home their inner demon comes out. Ironically, they often tests these kinds of limits with those they trust. It may not be the ideal way of saying it, but, she loves you.

What are some ways your baby shows that they love you?